Golden Visa: Greek Market Reacts to New Thresholds

The Ministry of National Economy and Finance is planning to table new provisions in an updated bill, scheduled to be submitted in March, upping the financial threshold for investments linked to the Golden Visa scheme.

Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis examined the new legislative framework today during a wide consultation with staff. The primary objective is to raise the investment threshold for obtaining the Golden Visa, to put a brake on the frenzied pace of demand recorded in the expensive areas of the two major urban centers (Athens and Thessaloniki).

The initial announcement of a hike in the investment threshold to 800,000 euros has caused “rumbling” in the market, with a private group of companies named the Association and Entrepreneurship expressing concern that any “hasty decision” would “harm” the Greek economy.

As for changes to the thresholds, the Association considers that a new increase in the threshold in areas with the current low threshold will lead to the cancellation of potential transactions.

Threshold Increase for the Golden Visa

The amendment expected to be submitted to Parliament will make the conditions for granting the Golden Visa stricter and introduce new increased amounts and different speeds depending on the location of the property.

The provisions would affect the more appealing areas to foreign investors, such as the northern and southern sectors of Attica, especially the coastal Riviera, the center of Thessaloniki, and Halkidiki, Mykonos, and Santorini, among others by raising the Golden Visa threshold to 800,000 euros from 500,000 euros today.

In the “medium” interest regions, the threshold from the current 250,000 euros would rise to 400,000 euros, while where there is no significant demand, the threshold would remain at 250,000 euros.

Until today, someone could acquire two properties of 125,000 euros each, to cover the threshold of 250,000 euros.

Airbnb

Meanwhile, the issue of short-term rentals (Airbnb, etc.) was also touched upon in the meeting, specifically the regime for properties acquired with the Golden Visa to be made available to this market with the introduction of stricter terms considered a given.

Source: tovima.com